This one up for grabs.

[muffett.2008]

A 1944 dated action for XP60 listed on Used Guns, an Australian website for outright sale, not auctioned, ........only $16000.
Attachment 75848

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[CINDERS]

I saw that one on usedguns Muffet opened my wallet and the moths flew out leaving nothing so had to pass....deep pocketed people may buy it!

[browningautorifle]

I don't know...it would need much verification before I bought something like that. I built one myself for a man that wanted one.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

The interesting part on these is the fiddly, charger-guide-mounted rear sight. Something of a challenge for the enthusiast.

There is more information on these in a couple of Ian Skennerton's books.

[browningautorifle]

the fiddly, charger-guide-mounted rear sight

Agreed, seen. Still, I'd just as soon look at it in someone else's collection out of interest.

[mike1967]

I don't know...it would need much verification before I bought something like that. I built one myself for a man that wanted one.

Different action to a No1 MkIII on this one Jim, the rear sight is mounted on a modified casting, very similar to a No4.

Cheers

[browningautorifle]

Different action to a No1 MkIII

Very hard to see, but like I say, I'd love to have a look anyway. I'm aware of the EX Aussies...but not actually held one.

[ufo8mydog]

The asking price of that rifle is why I have no interest in collecting the experimental Lithgow's.

That's a whole lot of standard Lithgow service rifles that may have seen a bit of action I could buy, rather than one rifle that sat in the rack it's whole life.

[Homer]

It's very easy to seperate the fakes from the genuine item with these regardless of the rear sight.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

And that "Rifle, Intermediate" was the platform for the "Bayonet, Parachutist", commonly called the “Machete Bayonet”.

If you take a quick look at one of these beauties in isolation, and didn't know what it fitted, it looks like the designers stuffed up badly with the design, as the "muzzle ring" lines up very nicely with the top 1/2" or so of the blade height.

Once mounted on the SMLE-style nose-cap, with its "low-rider" bayonet boss and sword bar, on the "Intermediate" (or standard' rifle), it all makes sense.

The entire concept of the "intermediate" rifle and its bayonet is in the name of the bayonet: "Parachutist". These were conceived as a"package" to equip the rapidly growing airborne units that were to be used in the big pushes up through the islands of south-east Asia and if needed, an assault on Japan itself. The bayonet was more a "multi-tool": parachute-shroud cutter, entrenching tool, and jungle basher, than a serious "bayonet", though I imagine it would leave quite a mark if used for that purpose.